Overall, the new bylaws are well-organized, comprehensive, and general, with policy delineating more specific aspects such as the membership fee. AUSU bylaw revisions require two official readings during public council meetings and two student consultations by teleconference. President Shawna Wasylyshyn mentioned that, thus far, no students have participated in the bylaw forum on AUSU’s Web site and only one student attended the consultation on September 6. No councillors had any questions or comments about the bylaws, even after Shawna’s prodding, and the first reading was approved unanimously.

Next, council approved the appointment of Councillors Kim Newsome, Robin Bleich, and Brandon Simmons to AUSU’s Executive Compensation Review Committee. This biennial committee convenes the autumn before a general election to review and make recommendations to council on executive compensation. The committee is expected to produce its final report before the end of 2017.

The next item on the agenda was AUSU’s three-year strategic plan, which was approved unanimously. The use of a long-term strategic plan as opposed to an annual goals list, as had been prior practice, provides continuity for council and stability for staff. The 2018-2020 strategic plan and its accompanying operational plan will provide guidance to council and staff on AUSU’s strategic direction and key action items in the areas of advocacy, student engagement, member services, community partnerships, and AUSU organizational structure.

Councillor Kim Newsome expressed initial concern about the strategic document not being circulated to council for feedback prior to the meeting, but she also said that she was very pleased with the document. She raised some good points about how AUSU should not only measure the success of student services, but analyze that data so that it can be used to better engage and communicate with students about services. Kim also pointed out that the goal to advocate for “teaching excellence” is not applicable for AUSU, but that advocacy should be directed more toward the content, variety, and updating of AU courses. To address her concern, the wording was changed to advocating for “academic excellence.”

In two staff-related agenda items, council voted to continue Jodi Campbell’s employment as AUSU’s Executive Director, now that his probation period is over, and agreed to allow him to hire a full-time governance and advocacy coordinator. The job description for the new position details how this new staff member will have responsibility for “overseeing all aspects of the AUSU governance and advocacy initiatives and strategies in order to enhance the overall experience of undergraduate students at AU.”

For monthly policy revisions, the AUSU Executive approved an informal review of AUSU Policies 4.08 (Removing members from Not in Good Standing), 5.04 (Discipline and Dismissals), and 5.07 (Staff Professional Development), making only minor changes. Council unanimously approved changes to AUSU Policy 5.02 (Staff Hiring), cleaning up the definitions of what constitutes part-time, full-time, permanent, or contract staff positions.

Changes to AUSU’s Staff Management Policy (5.03) prompted an interesting discussion about who should be involved in staff performance reviews. Kim Newsome pointed out that council changed this policy in January 2017 to require three to six people to participate in each performance review, a point that was now being removed. ED Jodi Campbell said that he is “not a fan of performance reviews,” but prefers to conduct an annual review that centers on building positive relationships and setting goals. Kim responded that she would like multiple sources of feedback to be included so that one person does not control the review process. However, Councillors Brandon Simmons, Andrew Gray, and Robin Bleich spoke up that council should not be involved in staff reviews, but that good governance practices allow the ED to manage his staff how he sees fit; the ED is then held accountable to council for his management of staff. After adding a point that the ED’s review will be done by the AUSU Executive, these changes were approved.

The monthly reports from the AUSU Executive, staff, and committee chairs revealed a somewhat quiet month at AUSU. However, one point of interest from the executive director’s report was that AUSU has recently partnered with Shaw on a trial basis to provide discounts to AUSU members. There was a brief discussion about whether this offer qualifies as a student service and whether council should have been involved in the decision to sign an agreement with Shaw. An action item was created to look into creating a procedure for future offers.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 12th at 5:30 pm MST. This meeting will contain the final reading of the new AUSU bylaws, so if you would like to provide feedback to council before the bylaw’s final approval, just send them an e-mail or comment on AUSU’s bylaw forum.

Bonita is a 3rd year bachelor of commerce student at AU, a mom-of-three, a political junkie, and an impassioned tennis fan, who just so happens to enjoy attending AUSU council meetings in her “spare” time. You can follow her on twitter @BonitaRenee88.

The first item of business was to approve a member-at-large for AUSU’s Member Engagement and Communications (MEC) Committee. It was noted that the AUSU Executive selected the top three applicants, and then council voted by secret ballot. Benjamin McDonald was chosen for the position, and council approved his appointment unanimously.

The next agenda item was the proposed 2017/2018 budget. Taken as a whole, this budget represents a significant increase in the size and spending of AUSU council and staff. Council budgeted for an increase from 9 to 13 councillors and from 3 to 4 executives, a change that will be presented to students in the upcoming AUSU bylaw overhaul. The incremental cost of this larger council and executive, including honoraria, benefits, CPP, and council retreat costs, is estimated to be $49,890 this year. An increase in staff salaries of $61,000, along with a staffing fee of $10,000, will go toward hiring another full-time staff member. Another new expenditure in this budget is an executive transition retreat (separate from the annual council retreat), to be held in January of each year at an estimated cost of $4,950.

When asked about these changes, President Shawna Wasylyshyn explained that, although the details are still being worked out, the AUSU Executives’ hours are currently maxed out and council has been considering adding a fourth executive for some time. Executive Director Jodi Campbell added that an additional staff member will provide governance and advocacy support to council, and the new executive retreat will allow the AUSU Executive to maintain momentum while planning for an effective transition.

The budget also allocates a total of $29,500 to mail welcome letters, along with AUSU magnets, to new members. AUSU began e-mailing welcome letters to new members in 2015, but the MEC committee wants to expand this program and connect with new members in a tangible and more memorable way. To avoid sending the welcome package to visiting students, new members will receive it after they have been a student at AU for six months.

Council also approved several changes to AUSU’s awards program. First, the maximum value of each computer bursary was increased from $800 to $900. AUSU doubled the number of returning student awards and balanced student awards it will give away each year, starting at the November 1st awards deadline. The AUSU awards committee is also introducing a pilot award called #Igo2AU, and this new award is intended to reflect the openness of AU and the diversity of its students. Awards Committee Chair Robin Bleich explained that the award will be available to all AUSU members, regardless of how many credits they have completed, and that applicants will provide a short essay or video in response to questions about their AU experience. One #Igo2AU award of $1000 will be available at each awards deadline.

The only councillors who had comments or questions about the budget were Kim Newsome and Brandon Simmons. Kim pointed out that the amount for telephone and Internet was inadequate, and council agreed on an amendment to increase that line from $4,500 to $6,100. Kim also requested to add $1,000 for merchandise to use for MEC committee promotions, and there were no objections to this change. Brandon inquired if council would be open to looking for cost savings for the annual council retreat. In particular, he wondered if councillors might share hotel rooms, for example, to cut costs. However, Shawna Wasylyshyn said that she “feels strongly” that councillors should always receive their own hotel rooms for privacy and to prevent any uncomfortable situations.

So, who will pay for these spending increases? You will. The budget has a projected deficit of $235,969, about 25% of AUSU’s reserves. Rather than drawing from reserves, however, the budget presents three alternatives that would bring the budget into the black: increase the $3.00 per credit student union fee to $4.25, $4.50, or $5.00 per credit. In other words, with the largest increase, students would pay an additional $6.00 for each 3-credit course. No councillors questioned the deficit or these proposed student fee increases, and the 2017/2018 budget was approved unanimously.

After a few minor policy changes and the monthly report presentations, the meeting ended with a question and answer session. One student observer asked about the upcoming changes to AU’s student resource fee. In response to AUSU’s advocacy efforts, AU will be reducing the student resource fee by $50, but students will be responsible to purchase their own e-text or textbook. AUSU promoted this as a win for students in AUSU’s July executive blog, but it was evident from the feedback on AUSU’s mobile app and the informal AU Facebook page that not all students are happy about the change. This student asked if AUSU had advocated for this or whether it was AU’s idea, and inquired when the change would come into effect. Shawna responded that AUSU has been advocating for course material choice, transparency, and cost savings for years, but AU decided on the amount of the course material fee reduction. VPEX Julian Teterenko interjected that AU informed them that most e-texts will be available for around $50, although textbooks will cost more. Shawna also said that she expects implementation will take longer than the estimated date of January 2018.

The next AUSU council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12th at 5:30 MST. To receive the meeting information, visit http://www.ausu.org or send an e-mail to admin@ausu.org. AUSU is planning to release their new bylaws soon, so make sure your voice is heard!

After a quick approval of the meeting agenda and the April 11th meeting minutes, council moved to approve a “2017 Voice Action Plan.” AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn prepared the document as an extension of the report and recommendations from the Joint Council/Voice Action Plan Committee (February 2017) which includes specific actions and deadlines. The Voice’s Managing Editor and AUSU’s Executive Director and VPEX will form a task force responsible to complete the action plan, including:

– Contracting additional hours for the Voice Managing Editor to work on various improvement projects for the Voice;
– Creating a flow chart for how decisions related to the Voice will be made, and updating policy accordingly;
– Creating and implementing a Voice marketing plan;
– Putting together a request for proposals and selecting a service provider, with a “go live” goal for the Voice’s new website of September 1, 2017; and
– Negotiating and signing a new, updated version of the Voice Autonomy Agreement.

Councillor Kim Newsome asked Shawna if she thought the deadlines in the action plan were achievable and whether the progress of the plan would be reported on to council. Shawna said that she hopes having specific deadlines for projects will provide motivation for participants to complete tasks in a timely manner. She also clarified that, as goals are completed, an updated copy of the document will be provided to council. Shawna expects that the Voice Managing Editor and Editor in Chief will be autonomously responsible for the Voice once the action plan’s goals are completed.

After council voted unanimously to make a few minor changes to AUSU Policies 3.04 and 3.05, none of which affected the substance of the policies, the Member Engagement and Communications (MEC) Committee put forward a motion to approve a new logo and colour scheme for AUSU’s 25th anniversary. The design of the new logo is identical to the current one, except for the addition of “est. 1992,” and a colour change to orange, blue, and grayish silver, much like AU’s colours. Council unanimously approved this change.

Next, council voted to ratify an e-mail motion allowing Julian Teterenko to purchase a computer for $1513.56. Each AUSU Executive receives a computer, owned by and returned to AUSU, to use for their AUSU work, but the value of the computer is not to exceed $1000. Julian wants a higher value computer, so AUSU created a contract in which he immediately pays $513.56, receives a loan for the remaining cost of the computer, pays the unamortized cost out of his final pay as an AUSU Executive, and owns the computer. Both the vote and its ratification were approved unanimously.

At this point in the meeting, council went in-camera to discuss HR matters. As a non-councillor, I had to leave the meeting, but I later found out that council made a motion to hire an executive director. This was made official on May 15th when AUSU announced that they had hired Jodi Campbell and posted his bio on the AUSU website.

Next, during the review of the monthly reports, Awards Committee Chair, Robin Bleich, noted that AUSU received a record number of applications for the May 1 deadline and would be meeting on May 29 to decide on the award and bursary recipients. It was also noted that all applications for the new single parent bursary were disqualified as they did not meet the basic criteria, so, like the November awards deadline, this bursary will not be given out.

In the MEC committee report, Julian noted that the committee hosted a “virtual fireside chat” for students in the Maritime region and that turnout was low. The committee decided to host these virtual meet-and-greets for members who would like to connect with their students’ union representatives and with other students in their area. Invitations were sent by e-mail to students living in the Maritime region. Kim asked Julian if he had any theories as to why attendance was so low for the event; he said that one factor may be that invitees were not asked to RVSP to the event. Considering the long-time lack of interest that students have had in council meetings, AGMs, and other AU-hosted teleconferences, it is not at all surprising that this concept might not attract many students. An in-person meet-and-greet is appealing for the social aspect of connecting with fellow students and escaping the mundane solitude that can come with distance education, but that same effect isn’t achieved through a teleconference.

Finally, in the question-and-answer period, I asked for an update on AUSU’s annual planners which the November MEC committee report indicated had been ordered. I noted that there has been no mention of the planners in any AUSU reports or on their website since that time. Julian responded that, because of high costs ($4,326 in 2016) and “not too much interest” (500 planners, AUSU’s entire stock, were ordered in one day), the MEC committee decided not to distribute planners to AUSU members in 2017. AUSU staff clarified that they did order a small number of planners, but only for the purpose of having something to give to those students who would come looking; they did not advertise them. It was also mentioned that only a few students have proactively asked for the planners. Shawna added that, after last year’s planner was sent to students, AUSU conducted a survey of the recipients and a “large number of students” responded that they did not find the planner useful.

A quick look at Athabasca University’s informal Facebook page, although anecdotal, tells a different story. In a popular Facebook post on January 7, 2016, two students commented how much they liked the new, smaller version of AUSU’s planner and eight other students expressed disappointment and frustration that they were unable to get a planner. In that same thread, Shawna responded to these students, saying that AUSU would “take this level of demand into consideration in future years” and that she was “happy that [AUSU] found a product that so many people wanted and a way to bring it to their attention.” In a technological environment where many students are forced to convert to e-texts and much of our lives are turning digital (including the new virtual meet-and-greets by AUSU), making a physical connection can be very meaningful. Also, students may appreciate receiving something tangible for their student union fees of $9 per 3-credit course.

Council will be holding their annual retreat in Athabasca, Alberta from June 7 to 10, a new tradition started in 2016. Councillors fly in from across Canada and attend various events over four days, including the AU Board of Governors dinner during Convocation. This retreat provides councillors with an opportunity to bond, to meet AU executives, and to discuss goals for the upcoming year. According to AUSU’s 2017 budget, this event will cost AUSU members approximately $12,000.

AUSU’s annual general meeting is scheduled for May 23rd at 5:30 pm MST. All members are encouraged to attend and participant in the AGM, and the agenda and 2016 annual report are available on AUSU’s website. There is no council meeting scheduled for June, so the next council meeting will be held on July 11 at 5:30 pm MST.

Bonita is a 3rd year bachelor of commerce student at AU, a mom-of-three, a political junkie, and an impassioned tennis fan, who just so happens to enjoy attending AUSU council meetings in her “spare” time. You can follow her on twitter @BonitaRenee88.

It was also noted in the quarterly goals update that AUSU council has been meeting regularly for an hour prior to each public council meeting, to accommodate informal discussion and brainstorming among councillors on a variety of topics. Each councillor is paid an honorarium of $75 per council meeting for their attendance, and considering that much of council has scarcely said more than “aye” in the past several public council meetings, I hope that councillors are actively participating in these pre-meeting meetings. On the other hand, perhaps councillors are saying all they have to say before the public meeting starts. Either way, saving money on honoraria by combining these meetings is, in my opinion, a judicious decision.

Next, AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn introduced the monthly AUSU policy revisions. Although policy 3.01, Election Conduct, was on the agenda for the April council meeting, its review was postponed to a later date after Kim Newsome pointed out that the membership had not been provided 21 days? notice, as is required by AUSU’s bylaws. The only other policy revision on the agenda was for policy 3.02 Election of Executive Officers. The AUSU Executive added a point to this policy that executive election meetings are not public meetings, although meeting minutes will be taken and made public afterwards. The policy was also amended to require an executive election be held “as soon as one can be facilitated” but no more than 21 days following a vacancy. The policy previously stated that executive elections must take place “immediately or by the next regular council meeting,” and this wording remains in AUSU’s bylaws. The changes were approved unanimously.

The AUSU Executives then delivered their monthly reports to council. Shawna commented that she was especially busy in April performing the duties of executive director in addition to her usual responsibilities as president. In addition, Shawna continues to advocate to AU for student choice between e-text and hard-copy textbooks, noting that this issue was the most frequent advocacy request made by students during AUSU’s recent #AUGoals drive. Councillor Andrew Gray asked about the Alberta government’s decision not to award any capital project funding to AU in the 2017 budget. VP External and Student Affairs Julian Teterenko and Shawna Wasylyshyn both asserted that the main reason that AU did not receive additional funding was likely due to the ongoing third party review. That is, they believe that the government does not want to invest any money in AU unless the third-party report demonstrates that AU needs such an investment to be competitive or at least until AU balances its budget.

Following the monthly reports, CASA Executive Director, Michael McDonald, joined the meeting and presented an overview of CASA’s purpose, priorities, and accomplishments. AUSU pays annual membership fees to CASA, amounting to $16,320 for 2017, so it is important that council believes that AUSU’s participation in the association is of value to AUSU members. Mr. McDonald outlined CASA’s vision, which is to promote “affordable, accessible, innovative post-secondary education of the highest level” by advocating to the federal government on behalf of post-secondary student associations. He highlighted several of CASA’s accomplishments over the past few years and identified their current priorities: economic barriers to post-secondary education, student employment, student wellness, and research and innovation. He also praised AUSU’s contributions to CASA over the past year and stressed the importance of the perspective that AUSU brings to the association, especially considering the government’s increased focus on providing support for part-time, adult, and other non-conventional learners.

The final item on the agenda was the official executive changeover, where the new AUSU Executive started their one-year terms. Shawna and Julian will each serve another term as President and VPEX, respectively, and Scott Jacobsen will serve as VPFA for the first time. When I recently asked each of the newly elected AUSU Executives about their goals for the next year, their responses varied, but all were squarely focused on advocating for student interests and improving the AU student experience, through federal and provincial advocacy, AU advocacy, and increasing student engagement.

Shawna: The most important thing that I advocate to AU about is quality of services for students. In recent years with the financial strain AU has seen, too many cuts have been made to student facing budget lines. Students deserve the best quality of programs and services and I do my best to remind AU Administration not to forget about who they are serving.

Julian: One area that is important to me is making sure that Athabasca University, being an online university, has been pursuing all options that it can to be leading the industry in distance and online education tools and services. This would mean both that the university is focusing on improving its technological infrastructure and that they are receiving the proper funding from the government to do so.

Scott: One perennial area for AU/AUSU advocacy – as many know – comes from the electronic means of communication with, dissemination to, and education of AU current and prospective students. It comes in the form of a question, “How can students stay, or even be more engaged with AU/AUSU?” An even deeper question I ask, “Why do students come to AU for education over other postsecondary institutions?”

The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9 at 5:30 pm MST, and AUSU’s annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 23 at 5:30 pm MST. Members are welcome to attend both meetings, but the AGM provides a unique opportunity for AUSU members to be active participants in the meeting. Any motions that members would like to put on the agenda for the AGM must be sent to ausu@ausu.org by April 24.

Bonita is a 3rd year bachelor of commerce student at AU, a mom-of-three, a political junkie, and an impassioned tennis fan, who just so happens to enjoy attending AUSU council meetings in her “spare” time. You can follow her on twitter @BonitaRenee88.

Why did you decide to run for the position of VPFA?
For some background, prior to the election, I was a member, as a councillor, on each AUSU committee concurrently for several months, and the chair of the Awards Committee too. I enjoyed it. With the new position, these roles will change, with novel duties and responsibilities as the Vice President Finance and Administration. My experience and role preparedness seemed more instantiated with the experience in each relevant domain through committee experience over time. I wanted, or needed, to feel more responsible in the decisions being made.

That is, the VPFA position requires more time, experience, and skills, such as 30 hours or more per week, extensive knowledge of the bylaws and committees, ways to manage and take part in meetings or committees in a proactive, constructive, and assertive manner with the maintenance of respect among and between the meeting or committee members – even in disagreements, and so on.

The main consideration came weeks prior to the executive election. I wanted, or perhaps needed, external evaluation from individuals with the relevant experience and knowledge, or expertise. It seems more responsible to ask individuals with more expertise than myself?and to deter possible self-deception about personal abilities, interpersonal skills, knowledge, readiness, and talents. Sarah Cornett, B.Sc., C.A.E., the [former] executive director of AUSU, Julian Teterenko, vice president external and student affairs of AUSU, Kim Newsome, [former] vice president finance and administration of AUSU, and Shawna Wasylyshyn, president of AUSU, when independently asked, affirmed preparedness for me.

They work with me. They know the position. They understand me. I trust them. I work well with them as a team. Considering the comprehensive experience with the AUSU Committees, further reflection on personal and professional readiness, and affirmation, encouragement, and open support from the current ED, VPEX, VPFA, and president of my personal and professional preparedness, I went forward with it.

What unique perspective will you bring to the role?
I interview students. I interviewed an interim president and the current president of AU, and some AU staff. I wrote articles and education and science news briefs. I take part in a research group. I reviewed papers for IEEE through the research group. I take full-time classes. I took part in all the [AUSU] committees, including the temporary and special ones, to expand knowledge of the university, the student union, and fellow students. My experience and domain of competencies expanded in scale and scope, and precision.

What would you personally like to accomplish at AUSU over the next year?
To the thrust of the question, I see two domains. So for short answers: one, the fulfillment of tasks and responsibilities associated with the VPFA role; two, the expansion of the original initiatives for advocacy of students, especially student engagement within the constraints of the position’s responsibilities. A longer answer is many know the difficulty of student mobilization in an electronic environment. The online platform provides opportunities in expansive reach but difficulties in socio-emotional detachment from the learning environment.

My original statements when elected as a councillor remain the same. “I will focus on student involvement and research…student involvement, this is a concern for AU. This means advocacy, communication, and governance.” I said, “?undergraduate research, this is another concern at AU?For me, the core issue revolves around the possibility to involve students with research to continue their pursuits into graduate level accreditation?We’re here to learn, to grow, and have a little fun in the process. I found this for myself. I would hope to convey and provide this for others too.”

Also, I noted the legacy in development of the organization and student life in the largest online university in Canada. One person, or executive, or councillor, does not make a community. Therefore, the big goal remains fulfillment of duty, oath, and responsibilities in an honorable and respectful way; one honorable and respectful to the past, the present, and the future ? with the long view. In the panoramic view, my tenure on council and in executive will seem small, but [it is] important to succeed and perform the relevant duties as best as possible. My work and vision will take place in this context – to fulfill duties and engage with students.

In particular, can you identify one area of AU/AUSU advocacy that is important to you?
Numerous domains remain concerns for me. One perennial area for AU/AUSU advocacy – as many know – comes from the electronic means of communication with, dissemination to, and education of AU current and prospective students. It comes in the form of a question, “How can students stay, or even be more engaged with AU/AUSU?” An even deeper question I ask, “Why do students come to AU for education over other postsecondary institutions?” In an aspect of the why, the how emerges, the answer appears multipronged. It requires persistent effort over 1- to 5-year time horizons.

And what would be your approach to increasing student engagement?
That’s not easy in the knowledge economy, in the ’Global Village,’ made of an electronic environment with current and prospective students, faculty, staff, administration, and so on, each with valid, important concerns for the institution. I see student engagement as one area, but [it] requires the community at large because this seems like Russian dolls – a Matrioshka nesting. I don’t see a sole solution for one of the central issues for AU: student engagement. The AU/AUSU advocacy remains nested in relationships of various strengths and types. Happily, this AU/AUSU advocacy seems important to most active members of the AU community.

What is your vision for the Voice in one years’ time?
My vision for The Voice Magazine in one year: development, maintenance, outreach; the development of capacities to service student needs and voices as much as possible. The maintenance of the increased capacity and development insofar as this seems reasonable within employee energy, finance, and time constraints. Outreach to more students as the student magazine. Most postsecondary institutions have a magazine or a newspaper. It seems important to me, but to develop, maintain, and reach out to students as much as possible does not seem like an easy task?but doable, I trust.

If you’re a student reading this, I would love to hear from you: vpfa@ausu.org.

Bonita is a 3rd year bachelor of commerce student at AU, a mom-of-three, a political junkie, and an impassioned tennis fan, who just so happens to enjoy attending AUSU council meetings in her “spare” time. You can follow her on twitter @BonitaRenee88.

The meeting agenda and prior meetings? minutes were approved without delay. One of the set of meeting minutes was from a special council meeting held on March 7 to elect the AUSU Executive for the upcoming year. President Shawna Wasylyshyn and Vice President External Julian Teterenko were re-elected for another one-year term, and Councillor Scott Jacobsen was elected for the first time as Vice President Finance and Administration. Shawna, Julian, and Scott were the only councillors to put their names forward for these positions, and all votes were unanimous. The new AUSU Executive will officially take office at the next council meeting on April 11.

The first motion of the March 14 meeting was to implement bbPress as a discussion platform on AUSU’s website, a recommendation made by the AUSU Member Engagement and Communications Committee. This feature will provide a forum for membership consultations on bylaw revisions, AUSU election discussions, and conversations among students on a variety of topics. The forum was recommended by AUSU’s web developer, can be integrated seamlessly into the AUSU website, allows for comment moderation, and is affordable, with only $500 in setup costs and no additional maintenance fees. Shawna Wasylyshyn and Kim Newsome discussed uncertainties around the forum’s long-term purpose and administration, and they agreed that the platform would be installed on a trial basis. No other councillors participated in this discussion, and the motion was approved unanimously.

Next, council ratified a last-minute e-mail motion to approve a budget overage of up to $14,000 for staffing fees to recruit a new executive director. Executive Director Sarah Cornett submitted her resignation on March 8, the day after the AUSU Executive elections, after a year and a half of working at AUSU. The timing was curious. If you read last month’s Council Connection, you know that council, after much debate, recently voted to sign a relatively expensive lease ($19,976 more per year than the cheapest alternative) to appease staff and to prevent AUSU’s work from being disrupted by a potential loss of staff. AUSU’s executive director’s resignation was effective on March 22, just one day after AUSU moved into that new office space. Although council was conspicuously quiet at this point in the meeting, Shawna later acknowledged Sarah’s resignation and thanked her for all of her contributions to AUSU.

The next item on the agenda was to approve the annual financial statements and audit findings for the 2015-16 fiscal year. VPFA Kim Newsome commented that the audit was routine and that AUSU’s auditor, Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP, said positive things about AUSU’s internal controls. AUSU received a solid return on its investments for the year, helping to turn a projected deficit of $133,573 into a surplus of $38,131. In addition, Kim praised AUSU staff for reducing expenses wherever possible. These cutbacks saved (when compared to 2015) $62,263 on staff wages and benefits, $12,448 on student planners, and $7,040 on office and administration expenses. Council wages and benefits, however, increased by $46,346. This increase was mostly due to a full AUSU Executive in 2016, after multiple councillor and AUSU Executive vacancies throughout 2015.

The AUSU Executive did not edit many AUSU policies in March. They did, however, make a few important changes to policy 4.06, Planning and Council Schedule, such as adding that the Projects and Goals Plan must be approved publicly by council each year, and that once approved, it cannot be amended. What happens if outside forces create a need for new plans and goals mid-way through the term was not discussed.

Also, the annual general meeting, regular standing committee meetings, and quarterly financial reports were removed from the list of tasks that council must schedule during the year. There was no discussion as to why the AUSU Executive felt they no longer needed to plan for an AGM, and council did not question the change. However, according to current AUSU bylaws, council is required to call an AGM each year, where the members appoint an auditor and receive the annual report and financial statements.

The AGM has been an important event in AUSU’s calendar, and although it has occasionally been contentious, it provided an avenue for council to be held accountable to AUSU members. It was also the only meeting where AUSU members can make motions and speak freely throughout the meeting. However, in previous meetings, Council had noted that the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act requires that bylaws and rules for the students’ unions be passed by the elected students’ union councils and took the position, despite some opposition from students, that this meant that it was legally precluded from allowing students to have a binding say over any of the bylaws or policies of Council. All of the proposed policy changes were approved unanimously.

After a few technical motions relating to AUSU’s accounting policy and investment account signatories, the AUSU Executive and staff presented their monthly reports. Shawna expressed excitement about a “pan-Canadian accord on post-secondary education” that she drafted as CASA advocacy document and that had just been approved at the CASA AGM. In her words, “Such an agreement would allow for increased mobility and transferability for credits and students between provinces and institutions, and the new, updated policy includes a point that suggests that students studying online or at a distance would be funded by the province of their residence to attend any Canadian institution.” AU currently receives funding for Alberta students only, and considering the majority of its students are outside of that province, a pan-Canadian accord on post-secondary education could benefit AU greatly.

Kim Newsome also mentioned her work on the “AU lost exam policy,” noting that she has had success in advocating for students’ right to appeal and that students be given the power to decide how to move forward after a paper exam is lost. It was also mentioned that AU will be providing students access to Microsoft Office 365, free-of-charge, some time after students receive their AU e-mail addresses sometime in the months to come. No firm deadline for this has yet been set, however.

At the end of the meeting, we were joined by Dr. Ken Coates, who was appointed by the AU Board of Governors to perform an independent third party review of the university. Shawna invited him to the meeting so that those of us in attendance could contribute to his review by telling our personal AU stories. Dr. Coates commented on the incredible response received from students, including approximately five hundred emails, in addition to input received in three teleconferences. Dr. Coates asked what we liked about AU, what we would change, and what our vision was for AU’s future. Several themes emerged from the discussion that followed. AU students want advancements in technology, choice between e-texts and physical textbooks, and more consistent service, course layouts, and course quality from AU. In addition to these criticisms, many of us praised AU’s educational model and stressed the importance of the flexibility and accessibility that AU offers. Dr. Coates? final report is due to be submitted to AU by the end of April.

The next AUSU council meeting is scheduled for April 11 at 5:30 pm MST. If you would like to attend, simply send an e-mail to admin@ausu.org to obtain a copy of the meeting package. I hope to “see” you there!

Bonita is a 3rd year bachelor of commerce student at AU, a mom-of-three, a political junkie, and an impassioned tennis fan, who just so happens to enjoy attending AUSU council meetings in her “spare” time. You can follow her on twitter @BonitaRenee88.

The meeting on the final day of January was called to vote on a new location for AUSU’s office in Edmonton, Alberta. AUSU has been leasing an office space in downtown Edmonton at Energy Square for several years and paying a hefty annual price of $54,000. However, this lease expires in April, and AUSU’s executive director has been searching for several months for an adequate, but less expensive option. With the current economic climate in Alberta, council anticipated that they would now be able to obtain a much cheaper lease. AUSU Executive presented three options for council’s consideration:

– A smaller office in the same building for $38,719 per year;
– An office at Nexus Business Park (7 km away) for $34,287 per year; and
– An office in West Edmonton (12 km away) for $18,743 per year.

The meeting was tense. AUSU staff made it clear that they wanted to stay in their current building and went so far as to say that all three in-office staff might leave AUSU if the office was moved to West Edmonton. One staff member insisted that a drive to West Edmonton would add five to ten hours of travel time for her each week. Staff preferred the downtown location because of carpooling arrangements and the perks at Energy Square, such as a bright office space with large windows, heated underground parking, and a 24-hour security guard, which they felt important given the late nights staff often spent at the office for council meetings. They also liked downtown for its close proximity to the post office, AUSU’s lawyer’s office, auditor’s office, and the AU exam center at Peace Hills Trust Tower three blocks away, as well as other amenities such as coffee shops and restaurants.

With AUSU’s strained budget in mind, President Shawna Wasylyshyn and VP External Julian Teterenko were in favour of the cheapest alternative: the location in West Edmonton. At less than half the price of Energy Square, they felt the West Edmonton location seemed adequate for AUSU’s needs, especially considering that the office is rarely visited by students. Shawna stated that although the space may be aesthetically less pleasing than the current building, it was safe, secure, and large enough for staff to be comfortable there. She also emphasized that council has an obligation to manage membership contributions responsibly, and she was uncertain AUSU members would support paying for an office space with features that AU’s own offices do not have, such as free underground parking. She also pointed out that AU had made an offer to host AUSU’s offices for free, which had already been rejected after considering the staff implications, so staff desires were being accommodated. It was noted in response, however, that this free location would have been at AU’s main campus in the town of Athabasca. Other councillors were coy about their preferences and seemed unwilling to voice their opinions in public.

After 45 minutes of debate, council voted to go in camera, and all non-councillors (including staff) left the meeting. An hour and a half later, we re-joined the meeting and learned that council would vote by secret ballot to sign a lease for the West Edmonton office. In a moment of serendipity, Councillor Brandon Simmons, who had been absent for the two hours of deliberations, arrived seconds before council voted, providing the extra vote that enabled a four-four tie. With a tie vote, the motion was defeated. This process was repeated in a vote for the office at Energy Square, with the same result. VP Finance and Administration Kim Newsome argued in favour of the Energy Square lease by noting that losing valuable staff would cripple AUSU’s goals for the year, that the wishes of staff should be given priority, and that it likely meshed better with longer range plans of AUSU if it begins sharing space once again with AU. Councillors Robin Bleich and Brandon Simmons agreed. After several more unsuccessful votes for the various options and with no end in sight, Shawna announced that she would change her vote to approve the lease to stay at Energy Square, as she did not want Executive or staff to spend any more time or energy on the matter. Council then approved this lease with a vote of six to two.

The new lease at Energy Square will be for three years, after which time AUSU will look at sharing a location with AU, whose Edmonton lease will also expire at that time. In the meantime, however, with all alternatives for reducing regular expenses exhausted, AUSU has indicated that they will be looking at the option of increasing student fees sometime in the near future to balance their budget.

The next meeting, AUSU’s regular council meeting, held on February 16th, was a change of pace from the previous meeting. Most of the meeting was occupied by typical (dare I say, yawn-inducing) business, but there were a few interesting moments.

First, AUSU’s new social media strategy was presented, which is an internal operational document that will guide and track progress toward increasing membership engagement and improving communication. The document established guidelines and targets for engaging with members on various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, AUSU’s mobile app and website, as well as the welcome e-mail that each new member receives. The Joint Council/Voice Action Plan committee’s final report added an action plan to the previous document with four interrelated parts: editorial autonomy and management parameters, content development, marketing, and the Voice’s website. Each of these action plans will require significant work by the Voice’s managing editor, Karl Low, as well as input from a “student focus group.” Without much discussion, council approved both documents. They then passed a motion to thank and dissolve the Joint Council/Voice Action Plan committee.

After an update on council’s progress toward their annual goals, council reviewed its policy revisions for February. Most were minor changes, but there was an interesting debate about if and when councillors should be penalized for failing to respond correctly to e-mail votes. In light of council’s high turnover in recent years, this discussion was both enlightening and disheartening. Councillor Robin Bleich provided the background for the debate; she had mistakenly responded to an e-mail vote by replying to a single councillor instead of the entire group. Considering she is a new councillor, this error is understandable. Or so one would think.

Instead, council penalized her, citing policy 2.16 which states that “failure to participate” in an e-mail vote will result in a one-third absence on the councillor’s record. Two full absences within a 12-month period will trigger a vote of removal from council. Robin could presumably prove her “participation” by showing the date and time of her e-mail, but council gave her no consideration. A lengthy discussion ensued about how many exceptions to this rule should be allowed, under what circumstances, and what specific wording should be used in the policy. AUSU’s longest-serving councillor, Kim Newsome, wanted no exceptions to ensure that all councillors participate in the e-mail votes.

This punitive approach may seem paternalistic. On the other hand, council cannot legislate for every possible event, and arguably, they shouldn’t try to. Policies are simply meant to guide council’s actions and provide direction, but council is responsible to interpret and apply those policies in an appropriate manner. Legislating for every scenario removes the human aspect, and undermines the value of competent leadership. In addition, it could make councillors feel undervalued, while unnecessarily complicating policies with rules for one-off situations. AUSU’s executive director suggested that council pass a motion to recognize the situation and save Robin from being penalized. However, the majority of council decided that the policy should explicitly state what to do in this circumstance, should it happen again. With a vote of five to one, an additional line was added to the policy that allows for a “lifetime maximum” of two exceptions if and only if a councillor fails to reply to the correct group e-mail address.
Lastly, council’s monthly reports provided insight into staff, committee, and AUSU Executive activities for the month. Work on AUSU’s bylaws continues, and a final draft is expected to be presented to council within a month or two. AU is planning to start rolling out student e-mails in April. The Finance Committee wrote off a debt of $375.50 from a former councillor after unsuccessful attempts to collect the money, while AUSU is still trying to contact over 70 students who are owed health plan reimbursements.

The next AUSU Council meeting is scheduled for March 14th at 5:30 pm MST. If you are in the Edmonton area, I encourage you to drop by AUSU’s office at Energy Square on 106 Street NW and meet the wonderful staff there. They are hard at work on your behalf every day, and I’m certain they would love to meet you!

December was quiet month at AUSU, so the January 10 meeting was a brief and routine review of AUSU business. While it lacked the drama of some meetings past, a few significant policy changes were made.

First, after voting to approve the meeting agenda and the December 13 meeting minutes, Council ratified an e-mail motion from December 22 that approved changes to AUSU Policies 2.14 and 2.15, defining “working expectations for general holidays and other scheduled AU closures” for the AUSU Executive and Council. VPFA Kim Newsome elaborated that these changes align the working requirements of the AUSU Executive, Council and staff; that is, no one will be required to work on any holidays or when AU is closed in December.

The updated policy, 2.14 Executive Accountability and Compensation, says that Executives will not be required to work any of the twelve federal and Alberta holidays or any weekday that AU is closed during the December holidays. AUSU policy did not previously address the working expectations of the Executive during holidays or AU closures. Executives will now receive paid leave for about an extra 15 days each year, depending on how long AU is closed. When asked for a comment on this increase after the meeting, AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn said that the Executive had reviewed AUSU records and found that “common practice had involved Executives not recording hours during the December break.” Shawna further stated that “Council determined this was a reasonable practice, considering that AUSU’s and AU’s offices were closed [during this time], and updated policy accordingly.” As this motion was passed by e-mail, we don’t know whether any councillors questioned this increase in paid leave or suggested that the Executive’s allotted vacation time be reduced to offset these new days off. We do know, however, that the motion was passed unanimously.

From then on, the bulk of the meeting was dedicated to AUSU’s human resource policies, reorganizing and condensing the policies to make them more user-friendly and consistent. In total, five AUSU policies were revised, three policies were rescinded, and all changes were approved unanimously. While most of the changes did not result in any real policy differences, there were a few items of note:

– The length of time that a former councillor must wait before applying for any paid employment with AUSU was increased from three months to two years.

– AUSU staff will now undergo quarterly performance reviews to track their progress toward goals and to identify any issues early on.

– The specific time period of ten days within which any employee performance concerns should be discussed with the employee was replaced with “as soon as possible.”

– Post-learning reports received from staff after AUSU-paid training will be included in the next council meeting package.

While reviewing these policies, Council also debated whether the AUSU Executive should be directly involved in conducting staff evaluations. It was proposed that at least one Executive Councillor should conduct all staff performance reviews alongside the Executive Director. Councillor Brandon Simmons disagreed with this point and stated that, in his view, the Executive Director should be given autonomy to manage staff how they see fit and to be held accountable for that role by Council. Executive Director Sarah Cornett commented that her approach for performance reviews is to include the input of Council and Executives and to seek out feedback from anyone who may have worked closely with the staff member. In the end, everyone agreed that the responsibility for these reviews should lie with the executive director, but that the process may include consultation with the Executive or individual councillors.

AUSU Executives, staff, and committee chairs then presented their regular reports. No AUSU committees met in December, but the Executive did attend their usual number of AU meetings and they briefly summarized their advocacy efforts. In addition, President Shawna Wasylyshyn remarked in her report on the success of the latest AUSU Meet and Greet in Edmonton, Alberta, which 15 students attended, and noted that she asked the Member Engagement and Communications Committee to create a “consistent framework” for these events across the country. VPEX Julian Teterenko reported the exciting news that ProctorU, the pilot exam service that AU launched in June 2016, will be continuing as a permanent service, welcome news for the many students who have come to love this convenience.

The next Council meeting will be held by teleconference on Thursday, February 16 at 5:30 pm MST. All members are welcome, and if you would like to attend or read the meeting reports, just send an e-mail to admin@ausu.org!

First, I should note that the Joint Council-Voice Action Plan committee was formed July 2016 to provide student insight to AUSU Council on an action plan for improving the Voice and increasing its readership, and to advise Council on how they could achieve their goal of supporting the Voice through non-financial resources. In their report, one of the committee’s primary recommendations was the establishment of a Voice Editorial Advisory Committee which would include the Voice Editor-in-Chief, Editor, writers, elected student representatives, and one AUSU Councillor as a non-voting member and Council liaison. The committee could provide direction and accountability for the Voice on ongoing basis, increase student engagement, and bring a variety of voices to the table, while lightening the workload of the Voice’s lone staff member, Editor Karl Low.

Council disagreed. Councillor Andrew Gray felt strongly that the committee should have offered more concrete recommendations for changes to the Voice in the areas of format, content, and marketing, along with a more detailed timeline. He offered pointed criticisms about how long the committee had worked on the report, as well as frustration that work had not yet started on a new website. AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn expressed that she did not want AUSU Executive or staff to invest any time and energy in getting a new committee off the ground, but would prefer the Voice to work with the resources it already has. Council supported these arguments and accepted the committee’s report as an interim report only, sending the committee back to the drawing board with more specific details of what they would like the committee to recommend.

As for the December Council meeting, the first bit of new business on the agenda was to approve an annual budget for the Voice. After general agreement to remove the memos to the budget from the public document, the budget was passed unanimously. The budget proposes a deficit of $45,386 (about 40% of Voice cash reserves) including $25,000 for a new website, $5,500 to archive old publications on that website, $8,000 for other promotional expenses, and $1,500 to fund a student focus group to help get all these changes off the ground. 2017 promises to be an exciting year for the Voice!

The next item was a motion to relax the criteria for AUSU’s new Single Parent Bursary from a minimum of 45 credits to a minimum of 30 credits. This recommendation came from the AUSU Awards Committee in response to an absence of applications for the bursary in the latest awards cycle. The bursary also requires applicants provide a reference letter from a non-family member. This is an unusual request for a bursary of such a personal nature, and it could put potential applicants in the uncomfortable position of having to reveal their financial situation to a boss or co-worker. It is possible that this requirement contributed to the lack of applications. But these are simply my musings; none of this was discussed in the meeting and the motion was passed unanimously.

A discussion item was brought forward concerning AUSU’s annual audit. VPFA Kim Newsome wanted to ensure that Councillors had read and understood an important e-mail that detailed their obligations surrounding the annual audit and their fiduciary duties to AUSU members. Then, after some straight-forward policy edits eliminating redundancies in AUSU’s policy manual, Council moved to go in-camera. All non-Councillors, myself included, left the meeting and waited patiently for an e-mail that would tell us when we could return. After 25 minutes (of eating my supper and working on that assignment I’d been procrastinating), I re-entered the meeting and AUSU President Shawna Wasylyshyn read the resulting unanimously-approved motion: “Be it resolved that AUSU Council remove Mark Swarek’s good standing as an AUSU Member and record him as a member not in good standing, effective immediately.”

No information was provided as to what lead Council to this decision, but as indicated in AUSU Policy 4.08, the decision to remove a member from good standing is at the “sole and absolute discretion” of Council. You might remember this Voice article from September 2016 that featured interviews with various candidates of the AUSU Council by-election. Mark Swarek was one of those candidates. Unfortunately for him, one of the main ramifications of being a member not-in-good-standing is that he will no longer be able to run for a seat on Council.

And with that, the excitement was over. AUSU Executives and staff presented their monthly reports and, as usual, these reports were filled with interesting information about AU meetings, advocacy work, current membership usage of AUSU services, and much more. This month, the highlights were that the #igo2AU contest was a great success that yielded a large increase in social media activity, AUSU mobile app accounts, and course evaluations; AUSU’s website is now more interactive, as students can post comments and share articles directly to social media; and lastly, AUSU’s Smart Draw subscription expired on November 30th and will not be renewed. For the most part, everyone does a good job of providing very detailed reports of their activities, and the reports are well worth the read.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for January 10th at 5:30 MST. In the meantime, happy holidays to you and yours!

The meeting started with some discussion about last minute changes to the agenda. The executive decided to postpone reviewing the Joint Council/Voice Action Plan Committee report until a later date (to be determined), after councillors have had more time to review the committee’s recommendations and receive clarification on a few items.

After approving the meeting agenda and the October 13th meeting minutes, councillors first voted on a standard resolution required by Canadian Western Trust to change signatories on AUSU’s investment accounts. The motion passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to approve a scaled-back 2016/2017 goals list. It was suggested that the previous goals list was overly ambitious given the limited time that the AUSU executive had available to commit to new goals and as a result, these seven goals would be removed:
– Finalizing, approving, and utilizing an AUSU Advocacy Document that outlines advocacy topics for AUSU at the federal, provincial, and institutional level;
– Observing provincial advocacy groups such as the Alberta Students’ Executive Council and the Council of Alberta University Students;
– Participating on the CASA Board of Directors as possible;
– Developing a comprehensive communications plan addressing all stakeholders for AUSU;
– Finding out what members need to discuss among themselves and what council needs to allow for robust members consultation;
– Reviewing and developing processes to support AUSU staff success and satisfaction; and
– Determining what amounts AUSU should have designated as reserve funds and the value of that designation.

President Shawna Wasylyshyn also noted, with obvious frustration, that only one councillor had responded to requests for input in revising the goals list and that Executive had been forced to decide on the goals without input from the rest of council. She questioned if councillors were receiving her emails or if there was some other reason for the lack of response..

After a further call for feedback on the amendments, Councillor Scott Jacobsen responded he was disappointed that the goal of observing provincial advocacy groups (i.e. Alberta Students’ Executive Council and the Council of Alberta University Students) would be removed from AUSU goals for the next year. New Councillor Robin Bleich commented she did not feel informed enough on what was expected of her, although she expressed her willingness to learn. However, no other councillors participated in this discussion. Perhaps they were all watching the results come in from the US election (I admit, I was checking them every five minutes!) but the lack of participation by councillors on such an important item to AUSU members was concerning.

When called to vote on the revised goals, VP Finance Kim Newsome voted “nay” to protest the policy being changed due to the lack of participation of council. All other councillors voted in favour of the revised list. This vote meant that council’s goals for the next year will be significantly reduced. Several goals identified by AU students in the AUSU 2016 Services Survey and that were key outcomes from Council’s in-person retreat to Edmonton this past August were removed, including researching platforms for membership discussion and creating an AUSU advocacy document.

Next, several proposed policy changes were up for discussion, all with the intent of making the AUSU President an “ex-officio, non-voting” member of all AUSU committees. The President is currently required to be an “active, voting” member of every AUSU committee, a commitment that occupies a great deal of the President’s time. This change would have the effect of allowing the President to miss meetings without penalization and without impacting quorum. This topic did generate much discussion, and council reached a consensus that the President should not be required to be a member of every AUSU committee. Councillor Andrew Gray argued the President could still be a member of any committee if they so choose, but this change would allow other councillors or AUSU members to step up and be more involved in committee leadership. Everyone agreed, and the necessary changes were made in the affected policies.

The Executive Councillors, committee chairs and staff then presented their monthly reports. Items of interest from this portion of the meeting were that the 2017 pocket calendars have been ordered, AU student emails are still a work-in-progress, and AUSU ended its fiscal year with a much smaller deficit than predicted.

The next council meeting is scheduled for December 13th at 5:30 MST.